Quick Takes

MPR asks St. Paul for assurance regarding light-rail plans

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Minnesota Public Radio is locked in a dispute with city planners in its hometown of St. Paul over a proposed light-rail line that will run by the network’s headquarters. MPR says on its website that it fears the line “will cause irreparable harm” to its headquarters with excessive noise and vibrations near recording studios. If the city can’t provide a mitigation plan by March 1 that convinces MPR, the network said this week, the line should be moved. The city’s Metropolitan Council argues back on its website: “MPR should get on board with the Metropolitan Council, St.

Quick Takes

Past FCCers join call for DTV date push-back

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Former FCCers William Kennard and Michael Powell support delaying the Feb. 17 DTV transition. In an op-ed piece in the New York Times, the two say: “There is no reason to rush toward a fiasco when we can just as well take the time to make sure the change happens smoothly.”

Quick Takes

Secretary of Culture idea gets grassroots support

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Former National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman William R. Ferris’ idea for a Cabinet-level position to oversee the arts and humanities — including CPB, NPR and PBS — is generating excitement. An online petition now has more than 23,000 signatures. Music legend Quincy Jones is hot on the concept, and says he’s going to be speaking directly with President-elect Obama about it.

Quick Takes

Alabama net axes show, plans layoffs

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Alabama Public Television will cancel a long-running public affairs show and lay off other staffers as it aims to offset state budget cuts, reports the Huntsville Times. For the Record will go off the air next month after a 25-year run, and anchor Tim Lennox will be let go. Other layoffs were expected to be announced today. The state has reduced its contribution to APT’s budget by more than $3 million since fiscal year 2008, when it gave $11 million in support to the network.

Quick Takes

KPCC to open D.C. bureau

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KPCC in Pasadena, Calif., will open a news bureau in Washington, D.C., making it the first public radio station in the country to have a satellite office in the nation’s capital. The bureau will be staffed by KPCC’s Kitty Felde. Details at LA Observed. KPCC is owned by American Public Media Group, the parent company of American Public Media and Minnesota Public Radio. In 2007, APMG sought to launch a news station in D.C.

Quick Takes

Cooney Center calls for mobile learning strategy

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The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop has released a report, Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children’s Learning, detailing the “untapped potential” of education through devices such as iPods and cell phones. The report calls for new investments in R&D, establishing a digital teachers corps, creating a White House initiative on digital learning, and modifying classroom access. The report will be finalized next week.

Quick Takes

NTIA opposes DTV date move

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Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration insists the digital transition can and should occur Feb. 17 as planned. Its Jan. 8 statement quoting Meredith Attwell Baker, acting NTIA head, appears to place at least some of the blame for the coupon shortage on consumers and Congress: “Since the program began in January 2008, NTIA has urged households to apply for coupons as soon as possible, so they can be fully prepared by February 17, 2009. We have been communicating with Congress throughout the Program and advised as early as November 6 that coupon demand may hit the $1.34 billion obligation limit by mid-January.”

Quick Takes

Obama team, Rockefeller back DTV delay

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John Podesta, transition team co-chair for President-elect Barack Obama, has delivered a letter to Congress advising the DTV transition be put off. Congress had set Feb. 17, so another law would need to pass to change the date. In his letter, Podesta calls government funding for the DTV converter box coupon program as well as educational efforts for consumers “woefully inadequate.” Transition officials estimate more than 5 million “unhonored requests” for the coupons by February.

Quick Takes

Pubcasting fan Markey shifts posts

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Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Edward Markey, a longtime supporter of pubcasting, is shifting between subcommittees of the powerful House Energy and Commerce committee. He’s vacating his chair of Communications, Technology and the Internet to head up Energy and Environment. Replacing him will be Virgina Rep. Rick Boucher, an advocate for President-elect Barack Obama’s government funding for rural broadband. Boucher is currently sponsoring a bill to provide government subsidies for rooftop antennas to help viewers through the DTV transition.

Quick Takes

PBS unveils new shows, will not unveil Lear’s “full monty”

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PBS announced three new shows at the Television Critics Association press tour yesterday. Ken Burns’ film The Tenth Inning picks up where his 1994 Baseball left off and will air in Spring 2010. The producers of Carrier will bring another behind-the-scenes reality series to pubTV next year: Circus, which follows the Big Apple Circus around the country. Dinosaur Train, a new science show for preschoolers from The Jim Henson Company, follows the adventures of Buddy, a preschool-aged Tyrannosaurus Rex, and his family of Pteranodons. In other news, PBS said it will alter its filmed production of Ian McKellan’s King Lear on Great Performances so the King’s manhood is hidden from view. How PBS would handle the nudity was one of the critics’ favorite topics at last year’s summer press tour. 

Quick Takes

Is Feb. 17 the big switch? Perhaps not …

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The long-anticipated analog-to-digital signal switch may end up delayed. A spokesman for Massachusetts Dem. Rep. Ed Markey, chair of the House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee, says that delaying the switch “certainly warrants further discussion and may be a wise choice” in the wake of problems with the converter coupon program. The Consumers Union requested the delay “until a plan is in place to minimize the number of consumers who will lose TV signals … ” According to Broadcasting & Cable, the Obama transition team may be open to the delay.

Quick Takes

PBS’ Kerger laments DTV coupon shortage

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PBS head Paula Kerger says she is “disheartened” that the feds have come up short on money for DTV converter box coupons ahead of the Feb. 17 transition. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, handling the coupon program for the Commerce Department, created a waiting list for incoming requests as of Jan. 4 after hitting the $1.34 billion limit set by Congress. The NAB has also asked the FCC and Congress to assist with the coupon backlog.

Quick Takes

Maine pubcasting delays shutdowns

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Ongoing talks with state and local officials and station members have prompted the Maine Public Broadcasting Network to delay the shutdown of two of its transmitters, set for Jan. 15, until Feb. 28. President Jim Dowe says the transmitters will continue operation as talks progress. The network has made staff cuts, salary reductions and other cutbacks in the wake of cuts in funding, including loss of a $400,000 federal rural development grant it has used for 14 years.

Quick Takes

Vogelzang to exit VPR

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Robin Turnau will succeed Mark Vogelzang as president and c.e.o. of Vermont Public Radio, the network announced yesterday. Vogelzang received a “really terrific offer” to lead a national fundraising effort for public radio stations, he said yesterday during an interview on VPR’s Vermont Edition. Vogelzang, top executive since 1993, led VPR through a major service expansion. Turnau, v.p. of development since 2004, has been with VPR for 20 years.

Quick Takes

FCC allocates DTV funding

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Grassroots organizations targeting seniors, minority communities and persons with disabilities are receiving $8.4 million from the FCC (pdf) to assist those viewers with their DTV transition needs. The groups will sponsor seminars, help with the purchase and installation of converter boxes and staff call centers. Pubcasters receiving funds include WXXI Public Broadcasting in Rochester, N.Y. ($202,498) and Iowa Public Broadcasting Board ($223,516). The money is part of Congress’ $20 million appropriation last year for DTV conversion outreach.

Quick Takes

Experts weigh in on ’09 funding

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The Chronicle of Philanthropy hosted an online discussion on Jan. 6 focusing on the outlook for nonprofit fund raising, grants and budgets. Participating were experts from New York University’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. One trend: Some foundations are making gifts only to pre-existing partner organizations. And a prediction: Online fund raising will see a huge increase in 2009.

Quick Takes

DTV coupon requests go to waiting list

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NTIA has reached its $1.34 billion limit for its digital converter box coupons, so new requests are being put on a waiting list, according to Meredith Baker, acting head of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration. There are currently more than 100,000 on the list, with thousands more each day. Those on the list probably won’t get the $40 coupons until after the Feb. 17 transition.

Quick Takes

Congress may eye antenna subsidy

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Democratic Virginia Rep. Rick Boucher is expected to introduce in the new Congress this week a DTV antenna subsidy bill. The legislation would subsidize rooftop anntennas for over-the-air viewers to receive digital reception after the transition in February. Boucher’s district includes rural viewers without cable access.

Quick Takes

Broadcasters ask FCC for more nightlight stations

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The National Association of Broadcasters and the Association for Multiple Service Television have asked the FCC to make more stations eligible to run an “analog nightlight” signal for 30 days past the Feb. 17 DTV transition. The nightlight enables stations to run public service programming about DTV, as well as emergency messages. The groups also suggests the commission allow underwriting for the nightlight similar to pubTV. The FCC must vote on implementation requirements for the nightlight service by Jan.

Quick Takes

Survey finds that iPods, online streams are changing pubradio listeners’ habits

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iPod usage and the ubiquity of podcasts present both opportunities and threats to public radio, according to this overview of findings from the first annual Public Radio Technology Survey. More than 30,000 respondents nationwide participated in the study, making it the largest-ever survey of public radio listeners. Public Radio Program Directors, one of three pubcasting organizations to collaborate with Jacobs Media on the study, also posted this list of key findings.